D28boy Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 I've noticed more and more that my '87 Les Paul is somewhat microphonic. I don't have a feedback problem during gigs unless I'm really close to the amp but wondered what if anything I could do to improve matters. Basically when I'm rehearsing if the drummers hits his snare hard then I can actually hear that thru' my amp. Also I can talk into the pickups and they work like a mic. I'm liking my tone so don't want to mess with them too much. I've heard that packing the cavity with foam can help which sounds an easy fix or getting the pickups potted but I don't really want to do that especially as I think they maybe Shaws. Would appreciate any advice,,,oh and yes when you tap the body of the pup cover you can clearly hear that noise being amplified as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Get them potted. No pickup that skwawks and skweels is worth any money, if that is what you are thinking about them being Shaws. They are worth far more potted than unpotted. If you can hear a snare hit you need to get them potted. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D28boy Posted September 15, 2015 Author Share Posted September 15, 2015 Get them potted. No pickup that skwawks and skweels is worth any money, if that is what you are thinking about them being Shaws. They are worth far more potted than unpotted. If you can hear a snare hit you need to get them potted. rct Thanx RCT but as I said I'm not swawking at normal gig levels.....yet....but maybe that's coming Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Thanx RCT but as I said I'm not swawking at normal gig levels.....yet....but maybe that's coming You are getting lucky with volumes and gains and positioning. Hopefully that will continue, nothing harshes a good night like a microphonic pickup. If it goes bad on you and you need to do something, potting them correctly is the only thing that works. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charlie brown Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 My '76 LP Deluxe's Mini-Humbucker's went Microphonic, several years ago, to the point I couldn't even play it, without it squealing at normal, or even below normal volume! I sent the pickups to my tech guys, at the time, and they wax potted them! Not a peep, since...and they sound even "better then new," now. Cost me nearly nothing, to have that done, in comparison to replacing the pickups altogether! CB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 My burstbuckers were microphonic from the box. It isn't an issue, I just noticed that they are. Is it possible yours have always been microphonic and you've just noticed. Also, don't want to teach my granny to suck eggs but have you checked it's not the reverb tank picking up the snare hit? All that aside. Potting them is the only fix beside replacing them. I guess they could be rewound but that'll be more, not a complete.fux and will affect the value more than potting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted September 15, 2015 Share Posted September 15, 2015 Here's a simple trick that might help... Stick a piece of foam underneath the pickup. The foam inside the Duncan pickup boxes is the perfect size. (Coincidence? ) Or you can just cut out a piece to roughly the dimensions of the pickup cavity. It only needs to be 1/4" thick or so. Filling up that little echo chamber with dead foam makes a difference in my experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D28boy Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Thanx for all your responses folks. Last night I took the pickups out and added a bit of foam behind which has helped to stablize them a little too. I think it has actually improved the sound ...seems a bit more defined maybe even a bit fatter. Pups are still microphonic though but maybe not as much but you can certainly hear your voice coming back if you speak loudly into them.But as I said I don't have the screaming feedback problem on stage so happy at the moment as I get a great sound. As an aside I think I have now confirmed that the pups are Shaws as they have the magic No PAT No 2737842 on them. So it was worth taking a look. I don't think they'd ever been taken out since '87! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Thanx for all your responses folks. Last night I took the pickups out and added a bit of foam behind which has helped to stablize them a little too. I think it has actually improved the sound ...seems a bit more defined maybe even a bit fatter. Pups are still microphonic though but maybe not as much but you can certainly hear your voice coming back if you speak loudly into them.But as I said I don't have the screaming feedback problem on stage so happy at the moment as I get a great sound. As an aside I think I have now confirmed that the pups are Shaws as they have the magic No PAT No 2737842 on them. So it was worth taking a look. I don't think they'd ever been taken out since '87! Just to be sure... and reiterating that I don't want to teach my granny to suck eggs, but one more thing.... If your speaking into the pups of a guitar with strings on it the strings will vibrate in sympathy with your voice and it will come through the amp. That aside, it sounds like you're OK with it for now with what you've already done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 My '76 LP Deluxe's Mini-Humbucker's went Microphonic, several years ago, to the point I couldn't even play it, without it squealing at normal, or even below normal volume! I sent the pickups to my tech guys, at the time, and they wax potted them! Not a peep, since...and they sound even "better then new," now. Cost me nearly nothing, to have that done, in comparison to replacing the pickups altogether! CB My burstbuckers were microphonic from the box. It isn't an issue, I just noticed that they are. Is it possible yours have always been microphonic and you've just noticed. Also, don't want to teach my granny to suck eggs but have you checked it's not the reverb tank picking up the snare hit? All that aside. Potting them is the only fix beside replacing them. I guess they could be rewound but that'll be more, not a complete.fux and will affect the value more than potting. Just to be sure... and reiterating that I don't want to teach my granny to suck eggs, but one more thing.... If your speaking into the pups of a guitar with strings on it the strings will vibrate in sympathy with your voice and it will come through the amp. That aside, it sounds like you're OK with it for now with what you've already done. First, any check for microphonics is valid without strings only. What Farns said about sympathetic vibrations will even occur with the strings muted. Usually one will also find out that knocking with a plastic pick or the like will transduce much less without strings. In the past I defeated microphonics successfully by gentle and careful retightening of the coil mounting screws. They will seat over time which can't be awaited at the factory, so a certain increase of microphonics is rather probable. I repeat the words gentle and careful here - in most cases a small fraction of a turn will do the trick. Having done so, I never felt the need to have pickups with screw-mounted coils potted. Deluxe mini humbuckers are a different story, however. They are just stuck together and wound with duct tape, and the play of the pole screws is larger than common with full-size humbuckers. I am with what CB said and think for mini humbuckers potting would be best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
D28boy Posted September 17, 2015 Author Share Posted September 17, 2015 Just to be sure... and reiterating that I don't want to teach my granny to suck eggs, but one more thing.... If your speaking into the pups of a guitar with strings on it the strings will vibrate in sympathy with your voice and it will come through the amp. That aside, it sounds like you're OK with it for now with what you've already done. Thanx Farnsbarns I'm no granny but I do suck ! I am speaking into the pups with strings on albeit muted strings and it does come straight thru the amp...Haven't tried it without strings. Are you saying that picking up a snare is ok then unlike RCT ? fyi in this situation we are rehearsing in the round so to speak and I'm facing the drummer which is of course somewhat unusual. BTW I'm not using the amps reverb at all but I guess a movement of air big enough to rattle the amp would produce a sound. We aren't that loud at rehearsals but the backline does get up at gigs as we don't mic any of it at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rct Posted September 17, 2015 Share Posted September 17, 2015 Microphonic pickups are those pickups that are not potted. The coils move, that's what causes the uncontrollable squeel, which isn't really feedback, it is squeel. Speaking into a pickup should not produce a voice at the amp, whether strings are present and vibrating or not. A pickup that can reproduce your voice is exactly that, microphonic, and it shouldn't be. Pot them. Nobody will care that they are Shaws, just pot them. That will end any thought about it ever. In 2015 there is no reason to have microphonic pickups unless, like me, you asked a certain boutique maker to wind them and not pot them like Leo had them. And then you know what you do? You pot your boutique pickups that you specified not to pot because once they get banged around a while and go off you can't tolerate it at all. rct Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jdgm Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I must be the only one to disagree in any way here. I have a beautiful jazz guitar with Schaller 'Golden 50' pups which are microphonic (though I haven't tried speaking into them). At the (comparatively low) volume I play this guitar, the pups amplify the acoustic sound within the body and mixed with the electric output, it sounds like an enormous acoustic guitar. In this singular circumstance, microphonic pups contribute positively to the overall sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Farnsbarns Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 I must be the only one to disagree in any way here. I have a beautiful jazz guitar with Schaller 'Golden 50' pups which are microphonic (though I haven't tried speaking into them). At the (comparatively low) volume I play this guitar, the pups amplify the acoustic sound within the body and mixed with the electric output, it sounds like an enormous acoustic guitar. In this singular circumstance, microphonic pups contribute positively to the overall sound. I agree. Microphonic pups are not a problem per se. They are only a problem when they're a problem. This is one rare occasion where I respectfully disagree with RCT. Even with muted strings, speaking into a pup with the guitar strung up does cause the strings to vibrate and it can be heard through the amp. A magnet, coil and vibrating ferous element is a microphone. It's that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.